A small set of words carries most of everyday Bosnian: pronouns, prepositions, and verbs like biti and imati show up in nearly every sentence you'll hear or read. Learning this hundred first isn't a shortcut, it's the highest-leverage vocabulary you can study before you know anything else. Once these words are automatic, everything you add on top of them lands faster.
How to use this list
Do not work through this list top to bottom. Read down it and mark only the words you could not have produced yourself. Those are your list. The rest are already yours, and reviewing them is wasted effort better spent on words you actually meet in reading, conversation, or subtitles.
The 100 words
| # | Bosnian | English | In use |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | i | and | Volim čaj i kafu.I like tea and coffee. |
| 2 | u | in | Knjiga je u torbi.The book is in the bag. |
| 3 | je | is | Ona je liječnica.She is a doctor. |
| 4 | da | that / yes | Mislim da je u pravu.I think that he is right. |
| 5 | se | oneself (reflexive) | On se smije.He is laughing. |
| 6 | na | on | Šoljica je na stolu.The cup is on the table. |
| 7 | ne | no / not | Ne razumijem to pitanje.I don't understand that question. |
| 8 | za | for | Ovo je poklon za tebe.This is a gift for you. |
| 9 | sam | I am | Ja sam umoran.I am tired. |
| 10 | to | that / it | To je moja olovka.That is my pen. |
| 11 | su | are | Oni su prijatelji.They are friends. |
| 12 | sa | with | Idem sa bratom u grad.I'm going to town with my brother. |
| 13 | ali | but | Htio sam doći, ali nisam mogao.I wanted to come, but I couldn't. |
| 14 | kao | as / like | On radi kao učitelj.He works as a teacher. |
| 15 | ja | I | Ja volim muziku.I like music. |
| 16 | ti | you (informal) | Ti si moj najbolji prijatelj.You are my best friend. |
| 17 | on | he | On živi u Sarajevu.He lives in Sarajevo. |
| 18 | ona | she | Ona čita knjigu.She is reading a book. |
| 19 | mi | we | Mi idemo na more.We are going to the sea. |
| 20 | vi | you (formal / plural) | Odakle ste vi?Where are you from? |
| 21 | oni | they | Oni igraju fudbal.They are playing football. |
| 22 | biti | to be | Želim biti sretan.I want to be happy. |
| 23 | imati | to have | Imam dvije sestre.I have two sisters. |
| 24 | moći | to be able / can | Mogu li ti pomoći?Can I help you? |
| 25 | htjeti | to want | Hoću da naučim bosanski.I want to learn Bosnian. |
| 26 | ići | to go | Moramo ići na posao.We have to go to work. |
| 27 | reći | to say | Želim ti nešto reći.I want to tell you something. |
| 28 | znati | to know | Ne znam odgovor.I don't know the answer. |
| 29 | vidjeti | to see | Želim te vidjeti sutra.I want to see you tomorrow. |
| 30 | dati | to give | Mogu ti dati savjet.I can give you advice. |
| 31 | doći | to come | Kada ćeš doći kući?When will you come home? |
| 32 | raditi | to work / do | Šta radiš večeras?What are you doing tonight? |
| 33 | gledati | to watch / look | Volimo gledati filmove.We like watching movies. |
| 34 | misliti | to think | Šta misliš o tome?What do you think about that? |
| 35 | govoriti | to speak | Govorim engleski i bosanski.I speak English and Bosnian. |
| 36 | uzeti | to take | Mogu li uzeti tvoju olovku?Can I take your pen? |
| 37 | naći | to find | Ne mogu naći ključeve.I can't find my keys. |
| 38 | živjeti | to live | Želim živjeti pored mora.I want to live by the sea. |
| 39 | postati | to become | Želi postati doktor.He wants to become a doctor. |
| 40 | ovaj | this | Ovaj grad je prelijep.This city is beautiful. |
| 41 | taj | that | Taj čovjek je moj komšija.That man is my neighbor. |
| 42 | svaki | every | Svaki dan idem u školu.Every day I go to school. |
| 43 | koji | which / who | To je čovjek koji mi je pomogao.That is the man who helped me. |
| 44 | moj | my | Moj brat studira medicinu.My brother studies medicine. |
| 45 | tvoj | your | Kako se zove tvoj pas?What's your dog's name? |
| 46 | njegov | his | Njegov auto je crven.His car is red. |
| 47 | njen | her | Njena kuća je velika.Her house is big. |
| 48 | naš | our | Naš grad ima dugu historiju.Our city has a long history. |
| 49 | njihov | their | Njihov plan je odličan.Their plan is excellent. |
| 50 | dobar | good | Ovo je dobar restoran.This is a good restaurant. |
| 51 | loš | bad | Vrijeme je danas loše.The weather is bad today. |
| 52 | veliki | big | Žive u velikoj kući.They live in a big house. |
| 53 | mali | small | Imamo malog psa.We have a small dog. |
| 54 | novi | new | Kupio sam novi telefon.I bought a new phone. |
| 55 | star | old | Ovo je star grad.This is an old town. |
| 56 | lijep | beautiful | Danas je lijep dan.Today is a beautiful day. |
| 57 | dug | long | To je bio dug put.That was a long journey. |
| 58 | kratak | short | Napisao sam kratak odgovor.I wrote a short answer. |
| 59 | mnogo | many / much | Imam mnogo posla.I have a lot of work. |
| 60 | malo | a little / few | Popio sam samo malo vode.I only drank a little water. |
| 61 | sve | everything | Sve je u redu.Everything is fine. |
| 62 | neko | someone | Neko je pokucao na vrata.Someone knocked on the door. |
| 63 | ništa | nothing | Nisam ništa čuo.I didn't hear anything. |
| 64 | niko | nobody | Niko nije došao na vrijeme.Nobody came on time. |
| 65 | sada | now | Moram sada ići.I have to go now. |
| 66 | onda | then | Prvo jedi, onda idi spavati.First eat, then go to sleep. |
| 67 | ovdje | here | Živim ovdje već pet godina.I've lived here for five years already. |
| 68 | tamo | there | Idi tamo i sačekaj me.Go there and wait for me. |
| 69 | kada | when | Kada dolaziš kući?When are you coming home? |
| 70 | gdje | where | Gdje je najbliža apoteka?Where is the nearest pharmacy? |
| 71 | kako | how | Kako se osjećaš danas?How are you feeling today? |
| 72 | zašto | why | Zašto ti plačeš danas?Why are you crying today? |
| 73 | jer | because | Ostao sam kod kuće jer sam bolestan.I stayed home because I'm sick. |
| 74 | ako | if | Ako padne kiša, ostat ćemo unutra.If it rains, we'll stay inside. |
| 75 | ili | or | Želiš li čaj ili kafu?Do you want tea or coffee? |
| 76 | samo | only | Trebam samo minut.I only need a minute. |
| 77 | već | already | On je već otišao.He has already left. |
| 78 | još | still / yet | Još uvijek čekam odgovor.I am still waiting for an answer. |
| 79 | opet | again | Molim te, reci to opet.Please say that again. |
| 80 | uvijek | always | Uvijek pijem kafu ujutro.I always drink coffee in the morning. |
| 81 | nikad | never | Nikad nisam bio u Parizu.I have never been to Paris. |
| 82 | čovjek | man / person | Taj čovjek radi u banci.That man works at a bank. |
| 83 | žena | woman | Žena je stajala pored prozora.The woman was standing by the window. |
| 84 | dijete | child | Dijete se igra u parku.The child is playing in the park. |
| 85 | kuća | house | Naša kuća ima veliki vrt.Our house has a big garden. |
| 86 | dan | day | Radim svaki dan osim nedjelje.I work every day except Sunday. |
| 87 | noć | night | Noć je bila mirna i tiha.The night was calm and quiet. |
| 88 | godina | year | Ova godina je bila teška.This year has been hard. |
| 89 | vrijeme | time / weather | Nemam vremena za odmor.I don't have time to rest. |
| 90 | život | life | Život je pun iznenađenja.Life is full of surprises. |
| 91 | svijet | world | Želim putovati po svijetu.I want to travel around the world. |
| 92 | voda | water | Molim vas čašu vode.A glass of water, please. |
| 93 | hrana | food | Ova hrana je veoma ukusna.This food is very tasty. |
| 94 | posao | work / job | Tražim novi posao.I'm looking for a new job. |
| 95 | prijatelj | friend | Upoznala sam novog prijatelja na fakultetu.I met a new friend at university. |
| 96 | porodica | family | Moja porodica živi u Mostaru.My family lives in Mostar. |
| 97 | grad | city | Sarajevo je glavni grad Bosne.Sarajevo is the capital city of Bosnia. |
| 98 | zemlja | country / land | Bosna je prelijepa zemlja.Bosnia is a beautiful country. |
| 99 | put | road / way | Ovaj put vodi do planine.This road leads to the mountain. |
| 100 | riječ | word | Ne znam značenje ove riječi.I don't know the meaning of this word. |
The ones English speakers get wrong
ići vs. doći
Bosnian has separate verbs for going away from the speaker (ići) and coming toward the speaker (doći). 'Idem u školu' means 'I'm going to school', while 'Dolazim kući u pet' means 'I'm coming home at five'. English collapses this distinction into 'go' and 'come', so it's easy to reach for the wrong one.
Seven grammatical cases
Nouns, pronouns, and adjectives change their endings depending on their role in the sentence, not just word order. The word for water is 'voda' as a subject but 'vodu' as a direct object, for example. There's no shortcut here, the endings just have to be learned case by case.
ti vs. vi
'Ti' is the informal 'you' used with friends, family, and children, while 'vi' is used for formal address or when speaking to more than one person, similar to French tu and vous. Using 'ti' with a stranger or an elder can come across as too casual.
Latin and Cyrillic script
Bosnian is officially written in both the Latin alphabet and Cyrillic, and both are taught in schools. This list uses Latin script, which is the more common choice for everyday writing, signage, and online use in Bosnian specifically.
Perfective and imperfective verbs
Many Bosnian verbs come in pairs that mark whether an action is ongoing or completed, for example 'raditi' (to work, ongoing) versus 'uraditi' (to finish doing, completed). English usually handles this with tense or extra words like 'finish', so the pairing takes some getting used to.
What to do next
A list this size is about two weeks of light daily review, and it is the difference between decoding Bosnian and following it.